The Biggest Problem With Social Media

Hootsuite recently published an insightful post on the Facebook Algorithm in 2018.

The post is worth a read, but the most important thing for me was that it got me thinking a bit more about the actual value of social media.

Although Social Media can be an amazing tool for communications and engagement, I have arrived at a point where I’m extremely cynical of how businesses use it (my own business included at times).

The biggest problem, as I see it, is that most marketers have come to see Social Media as an “activity” rather than as simply the mechanism for communication.

In this model, “regular posts” have become the activity that folks undertake, with content, quality and value taking a back seat.

While arguably it’s important to have a minimum number of likes or followers to appear legitimate on Social Media, the reality is that a small group of engaged followers is exponentially more valuable than an inflated number of low engagement followers.

Having watched 10 years of marketing smoke and mirrors on Social Media, there are a few things I’ll share that any company should consider before posting if they want to ultimately succeed:

Understand the audience you’re posting for

Ask yourself if the content you’re posting will add value for your audience

Ask yourself if the content will be wanted by your audience (even if it adds value, it may not be wanted if you post too frequently).

If your answer to all three questions is not “yes,” come up with something else to post!

There are many additional strategies around boosting engagement of good content, but the starting point should always be identifying something meaningful to share rather than simply “getting our scheduled post up!”